1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to orthopaedic devices, and, more particularly, to orthopaedic staples.
2. Description of the Related Art
Bone fractures are a common occurrence that can be treated with surgical intervention. One type of intervention commonly used to treat bone fractures is the use of bone staples to hold the bone fragments on either side of the fracture together. The implanted bone staple helps keep the bone fragments together so that they do not drift apart, allowing the bone to heal faster and reducing the risk of the fracture propagating through the bone.
To assist the bone healing process, compression bone staples are known that provide a compressive force to the bone fragments. The compressive force pushes the bone fragments together, which helps the body naturally mend the fragments back together and also provides a counter force to separation of the bone fragments by tensile forces experienced by the fragments. The compressive force from the bone staple can be provided to the bone fragments in a variety of ways.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,053,038 describes a compression bone staple that includes springs for driving the bone together. The springs are a portion of the bone staple that connect the legs of the bone staple to a connecting portion running between the legs. However, due to the shape of the bone staple, compression of the bone tissue cannot be achieved along the entire length of the leg and will mostly be focused on the bent portion where the staple legs meet the springs. This is an undesirable compression pattern since it allows for tensile forces that are distanced from the compression center point to potentially pull the fragments apart. Other compression staples tend to focus their compressive force at the tips of the staples, which is also an undesirable compression pattern for similar reasons.
What is needed in the art is an orthopaedic staple that has improved compression characteristics over existing devices.